


Saying Goodbye, Saying Hello

by tspofnutmeg



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/F, First Meeting, Gen, Post TLJ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 13:15:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18032417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tspofnutmeg/pseuds/tspofnutmeg
Summary: Rey doesn’t felt ashamed of her scars, but that doesn’t mean she wants to look at them.





	Saying Goodbye, Saying Hello

**Author's Note:**

> For Emma <3

Rey doesn’t felt ashamed of her scars, but that doesn’t mean she wants to look at them. The bindings made sense on Jakku, protecting most of her exposed arms from fresh injuries. When she left for Ahch-To, Rey didn’t know what would be in store for her so it was the safest idea to keep them. She’s glad she did, for it was some additional protection against the wind cutting through the hills. 

She’s especially thankful she had them on in the belly of the  _ Supremacy _ where flames rained down on her.

But now, out here, she doesn’t really have to worry about burns and cuts, at least not like she did before. The door to her bunk would never heat up so much it would scald her like the hatch of her AT-AT. If she knew she’d be shoulder deep in mechanical parts fixing up some engine, she could put on proper protection. 

For once she thinks maybe she can go without them and let her skin breathe for longer than the length of a refresher shower. She tries it. 

But she doesn’t like the stares she gets. People aren’t sneaky, especially when they think they are. She can feel them looking at her, wondering if the marks are from her mysterious childhood, Jedi training, or torture from her run ins with the First Order. Thanks to the Force, she knows it’s not just in her head. She knows they really are assuming things about her. She feels their curiosity and sympathy. She feels their  _ pity _ . 

No one with such good intentions has pitied her before. She doesn’t like it. 

She goes back to wrapping up her arms.

 

* * *

 

They have to stop sparring because the wrapping on Rey’s left arm comes loose. After settling on their makeshift base, Finn started fight training with Rey. He already knew it’s his weakest skill, but the face off with Kylo Ren wounded his pride as much as his body. Finn’s improvement in such a short time span is impressive, but he has always been a quick study.

“You can get rid of those, you know,” Finn tells her, watching her carefully wind the cloth around her bicep. It wasn’t a judgmental voice; he genuinely wasn’t sure if Rey knew all the things bacta could do.

Finn never gawks at her, not phased by her old injuries. She supposes it’s because he’s a soldier, someone accustomed to getting roughed up. There are probably many people on both sides who are proud of their battle wounds.

“Did you get rid of your scar?” Rey asks, realizing she never had before. 

“No, but it’s not the same as yours. I want to keep it.”

“Why?” 

“It reminds me of my limits and motivates me to get stronger,” Finn answers easily. Apparently he’s thought about it before. “What do your scars say to you, Rey?”

Rey draws her knees to her chest, resting her cheek against them. “They’re old memories. Whispers of fear and pain. I don’t find any strength in them, not like you do with yours.”

Finn gives her a look. She knows what it means.

 

* * *

 

Rey walks into one of the side rooms connected to the main infirmary. Seeing the limp bacta suit spread out over a patient table means she’s in the right place. She doesn’t have to wait long before a woman - not Major Kalonia, who she discussed the details of the procedure with - steps into the room reviewing a holopad. She stops in her tracks when her eyes glance at Rey. 

“Hi,” the woman says, a bit breathless. 

“Hi,” Rey responds much more easily.

The woman blinks a few times before taking a deep breath and introducing herself, “I’m- I’m Rose.”

“I know,” Rey says, and that’s enough to quell Rose’s nerves. 

“Finn’s told me all about you! Well, not  _ all _ about you, but a lot. Like how you met and how you escaped from Starkiller Base and how you actually found  _ Jedi Master Luke Skywalker! _ ” Rose pauses to fill her lungs again, “And he told me about how you saved us back on Crait! We were in some serious trouble then.” 

She’s pretty, Rey thinks. There aren’t pretty people on Jakku. Impressive, eye-catching, and even handsome, yes, but not pretty. It’s obvious Rose has and continues to work hard in her life, but it hasn’t made her look tough or weathered. Rose looks like someone who smiles freely, and it makes Rey smile back at her.

“He’s told me about you, too. I especially like the story where you bite Hux’s hand. But-” Rey starts as she leans in toward Rose and drops her voice, “-between you and me, I think he exaggerates his part when he talks about Canto Bight.”

Rose laughs loudly, and Rey decides it has the same gravity defying qualities of her smile.

“Harter had to go off planet, so she asked me to help today. Is that okay, or do you want to wait for her to come back?” Rose asks.

Rey nods. “I’m ready now.”

“I’m better at healing ships than people, but I do know my way around one of these babies,” Rose assures her, getting to work immediately. She keeps talking, telling Rey stories of being the one family in their area on Hays Minor that had a working bacta suit. Paige was usually busy flying, so it was Rose who learned how to help with neighbors’ broken bones, burned skin, and various other injuries. 

There’s a twinge of sorrow Rey recognizes in Rose’s voice, but the fondness overpowers it. Despite the pain, Rose enjoys talking about her home, her past, the people she’s lost.

Rey wants to feel like that. She wants to face what she’s gone through and be okay with it. 

Rose finishes up her story and gives the now set up suit an appreciative slap. “All set! Now you’ll have to change, here’s a pack of undergarments we can toss after you’re done. Bacta ruins clothes so you don’t want to wear anything you want to keep.”

Without Rey having to ask, Rose leaves the room to let her change in privacy. She strips quickly and gets into the garments given to her. The wrappings come off last and Rey holds them in her hands for a moment. She feels lighter when she tosses them in the garbage container.

Rose comes back in, helping her get into the awkward suit and lay on the table. It starts filling with Bacta, and Rey is surprised at the feeling. It’s not warm nor cold, not like being surrounded by water nor something thicker like jelly. She simply feels wholly wrapped and it’s nice.

“It’ll take a few hours,” Rose explains, checking the readings from the suit, “If you want we can put you to sleep or I could put on a holodrama for you or-”

“Can you tell me more stories?” Rey asks, interrupting her.

Rose looks surprised, but a grin spreads across her face. “Really?”

“Really.” She likes the sound of Rose’s voice. “I want to hear about your home and your sister and your time in the Resistance.”

“I’d love to tell you!” Rose says as she starts fixing herself a seat out of supply crates and blankets. Once she’s comfortable, Rose puts the holopad down next to her - because she tells stories with her hands, too - and starts at the beginning.

  
  



End file.
